'Well, This Is Iceland': Earthquake Interrupts Prime Minister

Katrin Jakobsdottir was discussing the impact of the pandemic on tourism with the Washington Post when her house started to shake, visibly startling the Icelandic leader.

“Oh my god, there’s an earthquake,” she said with a gasp. “Sorry, there was an earthquake right now. Wow.”

But Jakobsdottir quickly pivoted back to the matter at hand, laughing: “Well this is Iceland” and continuing her response to the question.

“Yes I’m perfectly fine, the house is still strong, so no worries,” she later added.

Jakobsdottir, 44, has been Iceland’s Prime Minister since 2017.

The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday afternoon 10 kilometers southwest of Hafnarfjordur, a coastal town near the capital of Reykjavík, according to the United States Geological Survey, which measures quakes worldwide.

The tremble led to reports of damage around the capital. Earthquakes are common in Iceland, which boats a sweeping landscape dotted with dozens of volcanoes.

Jakobsdottir isn’t the first world leader to be interrupted by a quake this year; in May, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was discussing lifting coronavirus restrictions when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near the capital Wellington.

As the camera shook, a still-smiling Ardern told Newshub AM Show host Ryan Bridge, “We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here, quite a — quite a decent shake here.”

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